Sonnet Technologies has announced the launch of its Presto 10GbE one-port and Presto 10GbE Server two-port 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) PCI-e cards. These 8x cards enable users to connect to high-speed infrastructure and storage systems using the 10GbE standard, which offers up to 10 times the performance of Gigabit Ethernet.

Both Presto 10GbE network adapters are low-profile x8 PCIe adapter cards that can connect to a switch or other 10GbE interface by way of fiber-optic or copper cable. Sonnet offers either short-range communcations at distances up to 300 meters or long-range up to 10 kilometers SFP+ transceivers for the Presto 10GbE cards, as well as the ability to use direct-attach copper in lengths up to seven meters. Both cards are configurable using either the OS X Network control panel or the Windows Device Manager, and are optimized for use over Thunderbolt.

The Presto 10GbE one-port card is suited for most applications, providing greater speed than on-board Ethernet solutions. The Presto 10GbE Server two-port card is suited for use in servers and in applications where redundancy is critical, supporting transparent failover to keep the user’s computer connected in case a single cable is disconnected or one of the ports fails. The two-port card is capable of link aggregation when installed in a Mac Pro.